Alex Trebek celebrated his birthday on Wednesday. In honor of his birthday as well as his 30 years as host of “Jeopardy!” we took a look back at his incredible career and greatest moments.
Born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, the 80-year-old TV game show host is a true icon in the game show world and has been a fan favorite since he first stepped out in 1984 as the host. (RELATED: Alex Trebek Announces He Was Diagnosed With Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer)
Here’s a summer update from Alex! pic.twitter.com/6oKJ5aSCU7
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) July 16, 2020
Trebek started out his career first as a broadcaster with the Canadian Broadcasting Company in 1961, per IMDb. Five years later he would turn those skills to TV game shows as the host of Canada’s “Reach for the Top” before coming to the United States as the host of “The Wizard of Odds” in 1973. (RELATED: Alex Trebek Begins New Season Of ‘Jeopardy!’ After Completing Cancer Treatment)
But history was made when he stepped out in 1984 on the syndicated game show “Jeopardy!” Since that time he has appeared in 8,132 episodes, per IMDb.
Check out that first episode below, which just aired this week due to the coronavirus pandemic shutting down production on the show. (RELATED: Alex Trebek Begins New Season Of ‘Jeopardy!’ After Completing Cancer Treatment)
This clip of some of Trebek‘s greatest moments from “Good Morning America,” compiled last year, is great — especially some of the rap.
In fact, Trebek has been able to cross over from being a famed game show host to being a pop-culture staple. At no time has that been more evident than when “Saturday Night Live” started getting comedian Will Ferrell to play the host.
Trebek has even talked about the famed impressions of him on “SNL,” telling the New York Post last year that “If they’re spoofing you, poking fun at you or mentioning you it’s because you’re part of American pop culture, and that’s a good thing, I think.”
Check one of those classic moments here from 2009.
More recently, Trebek shared with fans the ups and downs in his personal battle with cancer, after revealing last March that he was diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer.
He made headlines again last week when he gave fans a somber update about how his treatments were going, sharing that “there comes a time where you have to make a decision as to whether you want to continue with such a low quality of life, or whether you want to just ease yourself into the next level.”
Trebek continued, saying “it doesn’t bother me in the least.”
The good news for fans is Trebek said his doctor has told him that “he is counting on me celebrating two years of — survivorship past the diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer. And that two years happens in February.”
He also shared that his “numbers,” (tumor markers, used to approximate the extent of tumor growth) were going in the “right direction.”
Happy Birthday, Alex!